Settlement Agreements

Employers

Settlement agreements are a tool that can be used to deal with workplace problems. Most commonly they are used to help end an employment relationship in a mutually acceptable way.

We can guide employers through the process and draft the necessary documentation.

If an employer is considering offering a settlement agreement, the headline points are:

Settlement agreements are legally binding but this depends on offering the individual the opportunity to take legal advice

They can lawfully take away an individual’s rights to bring claims to an employment tribunal or court

The employee is usually offered a financial payment and will also often receive a reference as part of the agreed terms

Settlement agreements are entirely voluntary – they include terms and conditions that are mutually agreed, and parties do not have to enter into them if they do not wish to do so

Employees

We also provide advice to employees who have been offered a settlement agreement or where employees are themselves considering proposing settlement. Employees considering these options are invited to contact us.

Our focus is on listening to you, understanding your objectives and achieving the best possible outcome for you. Often by the time a settlement agreement is proposed, this means negotiating on your behalf to maximise the compensation on offer.

Note that:

Settlement agreements are often reached through a process of discussion and negotiation. You do not have to accept the terms initially offered – there may be a process of negotiation during which both sides make offers and counter offers

Negotiations are often confidential in the sense that, if an agreement is not reached, the negotiations may not be admissible as evidence in claims before an employment tribunal or in other court proceedings